


Classroom Dreams and Schoolyard Teens

by kibasniper



Series: Femslash February 2021 [9]
Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Acts of Kindness, Anxiety, Bullying, Crushes, F/F, Femslash February, Femslash February 2021, Nightmares, Pre-Canon, School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29329371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kibasniper/pseuds/kibasniper
Summary: Susie wakes up with a shriek at the end of class. Noelle, despite her limitations, tries to find out about her nightmare.
Relationships: Noelle Holiday/Susie (Deltarune)
Series: Femslash February 2021 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2134674
Kudos: 10





	Classroom Dreams and Schoolyard Teens

**Author's Note:**

> femslash february 2021 prompt 9: shame.
> 
> i haven't played deltarune in a while, so i consulted the wiki a lot while writing this fic.

“Gah!”

Alphys dropped her chalk, yelping. The shriek seemed to bounce off the walls of her classroom. Papers fluttered, and pens clattered to the floor. Metal scraped against the tiles. She heard her students emit similarly toned grunts, confused by the sudden noise. She hobbled around to face them, her tail swishing onfloor, her eyes wide on her the disgruntled pupil.

Susie had shot out of her seat. Her chair had toppled into Kris’ desk, propped upright behind her. She panted, her chest heaving as if she finished a marathon. Her shoulders tensed, and her hands tried to grab something that wasn’t there. Although her bangs covered her face, any of her classmates could tell they were bulging in their sockets.

Students murmured to themselves, unwilling to question Susie directly. Anyone who tried was most likely to be awarded with a knuckle sandwich. From her corner of the room, Noelle’s hand found its way to her mouth and stifled her gasp.

Alphys cleared her throat. Her lips trembled as they split into a lopsided grin. “Erm, Susie? Is everything…” She held her hands as if weighing her options. “...okay?”

Susie jerked to attention. She glanced at her classmates, raising her arms defensively. She looked like she was trapped in a room filled with strangers, her breathing still uneven. Leering over her shoulder, she spotted Kris, and she pulled backwards, her hip smacking into her desk. Anger flashed across her features, her fangs appearing as her lips pulled away, and she curled her hands into trembling fists by her stomach.

Kris simply sat back in their seat. They didn’t raise their head to acknowledge Susie. They crossed their ankles and continued writing in their planner.

“Uh, well, that was quite a...shout,” Alphys said, meandering. She gestured at Susie’s desk. “And, um, that bit of drool by your notebook means you fell asleep in class again.”

A chuckle slipped past Berdly’s beak. A glare from Susie silenced him.

“I guess it’s safe to say you were having a nightmare,” Alphys continued, but Susie snatched her coat off the back of her chair. “A-ah, wait, you aren’t dismissed until the-”

The bell rang. The students immediately gathered their belongings, stuffing them into backpacks and jacket pockets. Susie slipped on her coat and grabbed her notebooks and pens from the floor. She shoved them all into her backpack and stormed out of the classroom. She shot Kris one last glower on her way out, her stomping making subtle vibrations on the floor.

“Well, that was something,” Catti mumbled as she ambled by Noelle’s desk.

“It’s always something with a clown like her,” Berdly jeered, safe and sound from Susie’s wrath.

Noelle pursed her lips as she pushed in her chair. She clutched her backpack straps, her legs heavy as the others left for the day. She waved to Kris, frowning to herself when Kris shuffled out of the room. She wondered why Susie had glared at Kris with such malice. It wasn’t unusual by any means. Susie always seemed to target Kris as her preferred punching bag, but Noelle suspected there was much more beneath the surface, the tension too palpable to be ignored.

“Noelle,” Alphys called, fiddling with her chalk, “what was, um, that about?”

“I have no idea,” she admitted, sighing. “I don’t think Susie’s ever fallen asleep in class.”

“She...usually skips if she’s tired. Th-that way, she can nap in the gym,” her teacher grumbled, narrowing her eyes on Susie’s desk. She sighed, slumping her shoulders and moving back to the chalkboard. Picking up the eraser, she wiped away her equations and over her shoulder said, “Well, h-have a nice rest of your day, Noelle.”

“Same to you, Ms. Alphys. Goodbye,” she chirped, and she skipped out the door.

Students from every grade filled the hallways. They clamored and laughed, and she squeezed her way through lively, busting children and teenagers to the entrance. She leaped down the steps, nearly tumbling onto the cement walkway when Temmie scooted out from underneath her legs. She snatched the railing and caught herself, heaving out a sigh of relief that she hadn’t fallen and broken her nose. 

Facing the town, she breathed in the crisp air. A pleasant chill filled her lungs. Leaves changed from green to orange, the sky above her head a cloudless, contrasting blue. She brushed flyaway hairs out of her eyes and scampered across the walkway, ready to go home to get a headstart on her homework.

But out of the corner of her eye, something green and brown flashed. She whipped her head over to the strange blur. Other students paid it no mind. They continued hurrying away, some brave enough to spare a glance before retreating.

Kris lied on the ground. Their back was pressed into the grass. They rubbed their head, a wordless pain etched in their features. A shadow crossed over them, and Noelle sucked in a gasp.

Susie towered over them. Smirking, she gouged her claw into Kris’ limp elbow and dragged them to their feet. She raised her free fist, yanking her arm back and leering at her prey, fangs shining under the sunlight.

“You know, I really don’t like seeing you in the day. Seeing you in my dreams is a hell of a lot worse,” Susie sneered, winding up her punch.

Noelle gasped. She knew to stay away, even when someone was getting hurt in front of her. Conflict aversion could have been her middle name with how often she steered clear from confrontations. She should have been like the rabble of monsters and rushed home with their tails between their legs, eyes to the ground, noses to the grindstone.

But her legs propelled her forward. Her voice cried out before her throat could constrict. Her hand reached forward, and the air sliced the spaces of her fingers. She stumbled to a stop a mere yard away from Susie, her classmate much taller now that she was closer.

Startled, Susie reflexively dropped Kris. She gripped her hips, scowling at the intruder. She cocked her head at Noelle, clicking her tongue and demanding, “I’m guessing you want a fist to your face, too?”

They had only spoken a few times before. Most of their conversations had been idle small talk, killing short minutes before class started. Noelle was fascinated with what few tidbits she could gather from Susie, who remained elusive and reclusive, her internal thoughts a total mystery.

Heat colored her cheeks a soft pink. She nibbled on her lower lip, squeaking out, “Um, n-no, no, that’s not the case. I just think, well, I just think-” She peered at Kris only for her mouth to fall open.

Kris was already halfway across the schoolyard. Before Noelle could call out to them, Kris darted up the sidewalk and was out of sight in a matter of seconds.

 _They’re even quiet when they run away?_ Noelle thought in utter disbelief, Susie’s shadow crossing over her. A chill raced through her, and she slowly turned around to face her. A meek grin split across her muzzle straining her cheeks, but she was unable to vocalize anything meaningful.

Susie hunched forward, the muscles in her arms flexing as she crossed her arms. “Guess the loser chickened out and left you all to me, huh?” she jeered, drumming her fingers on her biceps.

Noelle admired their shape. Susie was much more imposing than she anticipated now that they were standing nearly chest to chest. Her musculature was lean, but her arms were imposing, sturdy and strong. When Noelle looked up, she was met with a smirk filled with sharp, yellow teeth ready to chomp and gnash. Susie’s nostrils flared, and she huffed out a laugh, Noelle wondering if she was merely smelling things when the scent of chalk wafted off Susie’s breath.

“I guess you have nothing to say!” Susie announced, leaning back and gripping her head. She barked out a sharp cackle, the noise piercing Noelle’s eardrums. She looped her hands around Noelle’s thin waist, grinning as Noelle squeaked. Heaving her into the air, she snickered. “Now, since you wanna take the beating instead of Kris-”

“I-I-I-!” Noelle stammered out, weakly kicking her legs. She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to think of a coherent excuse.

“I-I-I-!” Susie jeered back in a mocking pitch.

“I-I-I was wondering why you were dreaming about Kris!”

Susie recoiled. She dropped Noelle, who landed on her feet. She lunged backwards, her arms moving with her. Her bright yellow eyes widened behind her thick bangs to the point where Noelle thought they were ready to burst out from her skull.

Noelle pressed her index fingers together by her waist. She dug her heel into the ground and smudged grass onto her shoes. “Um, I mean, I only said that because...you said what you said before I came over,” she said, gesturing at the spot where Susie had thrown Kris.

“Forget you heard that,” she sharply commanded.

“I will,” Noelle blurted, flinching. “Um, scout’s honor?”

Susie stuffed her hands into her pockets and stared at her. Noelle tried not to squirm under her glare. She felt like a specimen under a microscope in science class. The words forming in her head sounded like they would end with Susie thinking she was more of an oddity than a monster.

“I have a question for ya,” Susie said, and Noelle nodded.

“Ask away?” she offered, criticizing herself for her uncertainty.

Susie extended a finger for each of her points. “You run over here, you get in my way, and you’re not getting anything out of helping that freak.” She jabbed her thumb into her chest. “I’m not gonna pound you flat if you give me a good answer. What do you want from me?”

What did she want? The answer was on the forefront of Noelle’s mind and on the tip of her tongue. But like many times before, vocalizing what she felt was out of the question. Engaging in any sort of heavy discussion or involving herself in conflict made herself shiver from head to toe. And although she truly didn’t know Susie, her heart was performing somersaults in her chest, loop-de-looping in place at the thought of revealing any deep feelings.

But she already came this far. She supposed she owed it to Susie to offer her a shred of honesty.

“Well, I was also wondering, and, um, and I’m glad I ran into you so I could ask, and what it’s about-” Noelle grimaced when Susie tapped her wrist, implying something deadly. “-what were you dreaming about that made you wake up like that?” 

“Why?” Susie cracked her knuckles, leaning forward into her. ”Do you have a problem with me getting some shut-eye?”

“N-no, n-not at all!” Noelle quickly shook her head. She tucked her chin to her chest and wondered if she should have let what happened in the classroom go. No one else seemed particularly worried about it, but the way Susie reacted with such fear was enough to convince her to persevere. “I was just worried about you.”

Silence passed over them. Noelle’s heartbeat pounded in her ears. Her blood chilled in her veins, and she wished she wore a second sweater to keep warm.

She felt Susie’s eyes boring down on her. She didn’t dare meet her gaze. If anything, Susie must have thought she sounded like such a fool. Barging over and trying to play both sides, even though she knew Susie was in the wrong for hurting Kris no matter how deep her infatuation ran, Noelle didn’t think her plan through at all.

But instead of a fist to her face or laughter through her ears, Noelle watched Susie’s face darken. Noelle assumed it was because the sun was directly over them. It must have been too hot for Susie, for she wouldn’t blush at a simple honest comment. Even if Susie’s clothes were lighter, in some parts threadbare, Noelle believed that it was a sudden heatwave burning her up.

“Kind of embarrassing hearing you say that,” Susie mumbled, itching through her scalp. She coughed into her fist. Her head tilted away, but Noelle made eye contact with her. Susie quickly averted her gaze. With a careless shrug, she passed around her, glancing at the shorter girl, “but, uh, thanks I guess.”

Noelle sucked in a breath to respond but choked on it. Air formed a lump in her throat. She could only raise her hand in a meek wave, but Susie faced forward. She listened to the dull trodding of Susie’s sneakers on the grass, becoming louder as they hit the pavement, and they faded as the distance between them grew.

Massaging her neck, Noelle ignored the mild pain in her hips. Susie’s claws must have grazed her, but they would heal. Her injuries weren’t as severe as her father’s, and she fixed the wrinkled hem of her sweater, telling herself she was fine.

Noelle wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the exchange. Her brain raced with a thousand thoughts per second. She welcomed Susie’s gratitude and lamented her own stuttering. She scorned herself for her social woes and congratulated herself for managing the courage to even speak with Susie. It had been a rollercoaster, and she was stumbling off onto the platform with a doozy of a grin on her face as the exhilaration wore off.

Although doubts gnawed on her self-esteem, and she reimagined the conversation hundreds of times, Noelle marched home with her head held high.

**Author's Note:**

> susie's dream was a sort of premonition about the events of deltarune! it was going to be featured more, but i liked the vagueness/dancing around the subject more than susie outright telling noelle. it's not like they're very close yet, and susie does think everyone hates her since she lashes out.


End file.
